Chapter 24: Best Friends

Lu Xun was returning from the toilet when he heard the intro of a song right outside the door.

This is a big over hit song about the humble love of being a crush from the crush's point of view. The tune is slightly melancholic and completely out of keeping with the theme of their happy birthday party.

He'll have to find an excuse to cut the song.

With this in mind, Lu Xun pushes the door open and enters.

The slender figure sat alone on a high swivel chair at the front of the booth, glancing up at him when he entered, his eyes unclear in the dim light.

It's Ye Yao singing this song.

Before Lu Xun could make any reaction, he was pulled onto the sofa by the others.

"Brother Lu, come and sit with us and listen to Ye Yao sing." Da Hei said, "Remember to support Ye Yao!"

Ye Yao turned sideways to them to read the lyrics on the screen, his slightly relaxed back still straight.

Ye Yao's voice is not that of a cheerful teenager, his tone is cold and he sings this humble crush song with a touch of lyrical sadness.

The orange light flashed across Ye Yao's neck, illuminating the tiny bulge in the long, slender neck, a male knot in the throat.

"I never dared to hope, for a response from you."

Ye Yao's lips curved slightly in a smile that was most often seen on his face.

"Jing Jing Look at the back of you and her, and the smile on your face will be perfect."

Ye Yao tilted his head towards Lu Xun, who was among the others, his lips still wearing Lu Xun's most familiar smile.

"It's all out of sight and I'm careful to hide it."

As Ye Yao sang on, Lu Xun's heart slowly sank.

Lu Xun is uncomfortable.

Rationally he knew Ye Yao was just getting into singing, but emotionally, he couldn't take it.

This song is not suitable for Ye Yao.

How can Ye Yao be so humble?

Ye Yao How can one be so fond of someone and even suffer so much for that person? It can't be, it can't.

Lu Xun stands up and walks over to the song selection and cutting machine. The music is just in the middle of the backing track and Ye Yao doesn't have to sing, so Lu Xun takes the opportunity to open up.

"Why did you suddenly think of singing this song? There are a lot of songs in the queue, the later ones might not get a turn, and this one is halfway through anyway, so I'll cut it?"

Ye Yao smiles and shakes his head.

Lu Xun pursed his lips, and although he was not happy about it, he listened to Ye Yao and did not move.

It was time to start singing again and Ye Yao took the microphone, this time instead of singing, he spoke.

Ye Yao spoke in a soft voice, but through the amplification of the microphone, it still reached Lu Xun's ears clearly: "Lu Xun, there are a few words I've been wanting to say to you."

Lu Xun froze, not knowing what Ye Yao was going to say, but subconsciously feeling nervous.

The light that ricocheted through the booth was as panicked as his rattling heartbeat.

"I've known you for so long ...... and been your friend for so long, and you've always been very nice to me." Ye Yao slowly recounted what was buried in his heart, and he suddenly smiled to himself, "You shouldn't have been so nice to me."

After all, one always craves warmth.

"What else are you going to do as a straight ...... man when I fall for you?"

Ye Yao looked straight at Lu Xun as he said this.

Lu Xun looked completely frozen, his eyes widened and his thin lips involuntarily opened slightly. The unexpected confession interrupted all his thoughts and his whole body was dumbfounded.

Lu Xun's fingertips tremble uncontrollably, his back straightens and the air turns solid, making it difficult for him to breathe.

His best friend next to him is gay and has a crush on him.

Ye Yao likes him.

What is he going to do?

Lu Xun would have made a quick decision to tell anyone who spoke to him like that to get out.

But it was Ye Yao in front of him, so how could he possibly tell Ye Yao to get out?

These two simple questions sent the temperature in Lu Xun's head through the roof, and before Lu Xun could make sense of the confusing mess, Ye Yao broke the tension by laughing.

Ye Yao smiled and arched his eyebrows, "You're scared to death, aren't you thinking of how to get out of the door? False, don't worry, I have absolutely no ill will towards you."

Da Hei and Dafang, who had been forcibly serious for a long time, finally managed to laugh out loud and they pounded the sofa with laughter.

"Brother Lu just had that look on his face, he was dumbfounded, he really believed it!"

"Brother Lu's world must have just fallen apart once, Brother Lu pick it up and put it back together, it's still working!"

Lu Xun's brain temperature, which had risen within seconds, cooled sharply at the words, and his handsome brow furrowed, "Playing me?"

"It's Truth or Dare, Ye Yao just drew this." Da Hei quickly took his phone out and showed it to Lu Xun to prove Ye Yao's innocence.

Lu Xun is silent.

Ye Yao got out of his chair and patted Lu Xun on the shoulder, "Did you get scared? I'll make it up to you by eating some more cake later."

Lu Xun was dragged back to the sofa to listen to the others compliment Ye Yao's acting skills.

"As expected of our Brother Ye, not only is he a good student, but he even acts so realistically!"

"That's amazing, how did you come up with those lines? I would have just rushed up and said I like you, but I didn't expect Brother Ye to know a lot of bloody lines!"

"Was it well acted, just like you learned on TV." Ye Yao smiles.

Where does he actually get his great acting chops if he's not an actor?

Ye Yao also asked Lu Xun: "Did you get over it?"

"Well, order a few bottles of wine." Lu Xun said in a muffled voice, "Drinking will help."

Soon various beers and wines were brought to the rooms to add to the party atmosphere.

Lu Xun acted as usual, but he drank a lot.

Lu Xun is not a big drinker.

Ye Yao took in the anomalies and had a good idea of what to expect.

Even if it was just a joke, Lu Xun didn't take it well. Being confessed to by someone of the same sex is undoubtedly a Lu Xun minefield, and even if he had stepped inside it, it would have caused Lu Xun discomfort.

Lu Xun should not want to have close contact with him for a short time.

Nearing twelve o'clock, the cake was brought up.

"Yeah, eat the cake! You eat the cake core, I'll eat the cake sides, we both get to eat, hey hey hey." A drunken, generous giggle.

By this time everyone except Ye Yao had had a lot to drink, their faces were red and they were talking with increased excitement.

Lu Xun drank the most, but he didn't get carried away with his drinking, instead he became more and more fierce.

The cake was placed on the table and Ye Yao walked in to make a wish and blow out the candles, then it was time to cut the cake.

Cutting a cake is a relatively tricky task and in the past, Lu Xun would have fought with Ye Yao to cut the cake. Today Lu Xun was in an unusual state and Ye Yao, not wanting to cause any more trouble, took the cake knife and cut it first.

"How can you let the birthday boy of the day cut the cake!" A drunken Da Hei exclaims, "I'll do it, I'll do it, your thoughtful little brother at your sincere service."

Before Da Hei's hand could reach out, another large hand reached out and placed its palm fully over the back of Ye Yao's hand.

He tightened his grip on Ye Yao's hand, eliminating any possibility of Ye Yao breaking free.

Ye Yao froze and turned his head to meet Lu Xun's gaze.

"Cut the cake." Lu Xun's eyes look cold and sober, but the words that come out of his mouth are anything but, "Cut the cake together."

Lu Xun's sudden contact caused a fine sweat to seep from Ye Yao's palm as he whispered, "Yes."

Hearing Ye Yao's response, Lu Xun reached out and put his other arm around Ye Yao's shoulder, then very quickly lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against Ye Yao's, mumbling, "Cut the cake, cut the cake together."

Ye Yao was startled by the rub, and finally understood.

Lu Xun is 100% drunk!

Ye Yao was held in Lu Xun's hand as he cut the large cake on the table. Lu Xun cut it with a serious face as if it was not an ordinary birthday cake but a wedding cake to be treated with care.

Cut the cake into even portions and Lu Xun divides it into portions for each person.

"It's delicious, don't waste it, it's a very important cake, you know?" Lu Xun said fiercely.

"Got it, oooh, thanks Brother Lu for the reward." Da Hei ate while standing up and spinning around, "Is this your cave, it's so shiny, it blinks my eyes."

"Today, let's visit the bridal chamber! One worship to heaven and earth, two worship to the high hall, couple to couple - sent to the bridal chamber! Hey, hey, hey." Da Fang continued to giggle.

Lu Xun looked around the room and snapped back to attention, slamming the table and saying angrily, "What are you doing in my cave at this hour? This is no place for you to be! Get out, all of you, I have business to attend to."

The two men really listened to Lu Xun and walked out with their cakes in their hands, dizzyingly, with their instructions in mind.

"Ye Yao is so delicate, he can't stand to be hurt, you have to be gentle." Da Fang wiped his tears, "I am useless, I couldn't protect you and let you get married to this bully."

"Oooh, how quickly you can get married!"

Ye Yao: "???"

Ye Yao, of course, couldn't just watch two drunken men walk out and go off to play drunken madness somewhere, so he immediately stood up and tried to pull them back, but before he could take two steps, he was grabbed by the waist.

"You want to run?" Lu Xun, who had his arm around Ye Yao, said coldly, "Dream on, if you enter my door, you are my person."

"You're all dizzy, let you drink so much wine!" Ye Yao couldn't break Lu Xun's stranglehold and could only improvise by acting together, "I'm going to see them off, it's proper etiquette, you'll have to come with me too."

Lu Xun obeyed this time and walked out with Ye Yao.

It was already past twelve o'clock and the three men were too drunk to play anything else, so Ye Yao simply took them to a nearby hotel and got two double rooms.

He tucks the two youngsters into bed with great effort, then drags the tall Lu Xun back to the other room.

He tries to coax Lu Xun into bed, but Lu Xun, once next to the bed, sits upright on the edge of it, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Don't want to go to bed yet? I'll go and get you some water." Ye Yao asked.

Lu Xun shook his head and patted the seat next to him, so Ye Yao took a seat next to Lu Xun.

Ye Yao and Lu Xun look at each other, Lu Xun's eyes are dark and it is impossible to read his mind.

According to Ye Yao, whenever Lu Xun is this drunk, he forgets what happened the day before when he wakes up the next day.

Lu Xun came over so that his shoulder could rest against Ye Yao's.

"When you got drunk you forgot about my confession to you, that little discomfort, and you're the best buddy in the world with me again?" Ye Yao said.

Lu Xun smiles when he hears the words "the best in the world", his hands groping back as if searching for something and turning back anxiously when he doesn't find it.

"Where's the bag, where's my bag?"

"You're looking for that bag you brought with you today? I've put it on the chair over there for you." Ye Yao said.

When Lu Xun came out today, he had a bag on his back and told him mysteriously that it contained a birthday present and that he couldn't see it until it was too late.

Lu Xun got up and brought the bag over and placed it between him and Ye Yao.

"Guess what?" Lu Xun looked smug, "Dare to guess."

Ye Yao couldn't have guessed, but as he held the bag tonight he noticed it wasn't heavy and didn't rattle or shake when he shook it, so he made a casual guess: "A picture of you from your childhood?"

"So you want this?" Lu Xun frowned once, "Next time I'll give it to you and guess."

Ye Yao: "...... No need to give me a photo, is that a dress inside?"

"So clever, you guessed it right!" Lu Xun excitedly took the jumper out of his bag and held it up to Ye Yao to show him, "Do you like it?"

Ye Yao looked at the unmarked dress and had a vague suspicion of something ridiculous, he quickly looked up at Lu Xun and whispered, "I like it."

Lu Xun's features are deep and three-dimensional, and I don't know if it is an illusion caused by his silhouette and shadows, or if it is influenced by his own state of mind, but Ye Yao sees a certain depth of emotion in Lu Xun's eyes.

The school bully, who was a big-hearted man in the eyes of everyone and whose various interests were similar to those of ordinary boys, and who had nothing to do with needlework, grinned happily, "I made it for you myself."

Ye Yao reached for the jumper, its fine fleece warm and soft, rubbing softly against his palm.

He suddenly understood what Lu Ming's unfinished sentence was referring to, so Lu Xun had not slept with him for a while, so he was secretly knitting him a jumper.

No one is ever unhappy to be treated so seriously again, and Ye Yao's eyes are a little sore as he blinks and turns his head away from Lu Xun.

Lu Xun wrapped his arms around Ye Yao's waist and pressed the tip of his nose against Ye Yao's neck, "Can you show me what you're wearing now?"

"...... hmm." Ye Yao nudged Lu Xun slightly and unzipped his jacket, pulling the jumper over his body.

But Lu Xun wasn't satisfied, and he frowned: "That's not how this dress is worn."

"So how do I wear it?" Ye Yao asked.

The next second, Ye Yao was pushed onto his back and onto the bed.

Lu Xun is propped up above him, one hand pressed against his cheek.

There was a sudden chill at the waist and stomach, and it was Lu Xun's other hand that dug in.

Ye Yao shuddered and hastily pressed Lu Xun's disruptive hand down, whispering, "What are you doing?"

Lu Xun, propped above him, had a wicked smile on his lips, "This jumper, it's for you to wear close to your body."

Lu Xun got rid of Ye Yao's hands holding him down and lifted Ye Yao's shirt up.

The white jade skin was exposed to Lu Xun's eyes, who looked at it with fascination and murmured, "I knew this pink would suit you."

Ye Yao's waist is so thin that Lu Xun places his hand in the indentation on the side of it and can almost hold the person in its entirety.

"Lu Xun!" Ye Yao tried to fight his way out, but Lu Xun was really strong, not to mention the fact that now that Lu Xun was drunk, he was incredibly strong.

You can't match strength with a drunk, Ye Yao tries to reason with the drunk: "You're hurting me, let go."

Lu Xun did ease up on the pressure, he rubbed painfully at the spot where he had just held Ye Yao down, and adjusted his position back down, blowing gently on the spot where he had just pinched Ye Yao.

With the cool breeze on his skin and the sore, itchy rubbing on the side of his waist, Ye Yao could not help but raise his head and straighten his long neck.

Ye Yao's sensitive spot is at the waist.

The last time he went to the bathhouse with Lu Xun, Lu Xun rubbed his waist when he had no desire to do so, causing him to react in a way he shouldn't have.

It's the same now as it was then.

Ye Yao, now lying on his front with his head slightly tilted back, could see everything clearly, including his own changes and the sight of Lu Xun staring straight at him .......

Ye Yao tried to push Lu Xun away, but his hand was held again.

Lu Xun's palm was hot and he was breathing much more rapidly than before. Lu Xun moved forward again, leaned down and said urgently in Ye Yao's ear, "It's your birthday, I'll lick you."

...... what?

The words were so unintelligible that Ye Yao didn't react to them for a moment. But when he saw Lu Xun change his position again and try to lower his head, he suddenly understood what Lu Xun was talking about.

"You're crazy!" Ye Yao immediately grabbed Lu Xun by the collar, lifted Lu Xun's head up and said angrily, "Do you know what you're doing? Are you drunk and treating me like a girl?"

Lu Xun, who doesn't drink too much and still has his usual unruly look, asks inexplicably, "How can you be a girl? You're a guy, did you get a sex change operation? Let me touch it."

Ye Yao restrained Lu Xun's attempted disorderly hands and said coldly, "Then what are you talking about, isn't it disgusting to do such things?"

Lu Xun froze at the comment and he slowly frowned, "You think I'm disgusting?"

Ye Yao was simply exasperated, "I didn't say you were disgusting, I said you're a straight man who doesn't mind doing this for another man?"

The question was incomprehensible to a drunken Lu Xun, "I'm helping you, how is helping you disgusting." Lu Xun didn't know what came to mind and smiled, "We're ...... best friends."

Ye Yao was like a punch to cotton, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and closed his eyes and sighed.

He's the one who doesn't understand straight friendships anymore.

After all, he's bent.

Lu Xun tried to make a mess, but Ye Yao held his hand down and never let go.

"Lu Xun, I'm asking you one last time." Ye Yao questioned the drunken man, word by word, clearly spelled out.

It was only when Lu Xun was so drunk that he wouldn't remember the next day that he dared to ask this question.

"Can you accept that you like the same sex," Ye Yao said, looking Lu Xun in the eye, "can you accept yourself, sleeping with another man?"

Lu Xun's expression changes, his face disappears in a comfortable and pleasant way, as if he has eaten something wrong and is now fighting back the discomfort to keep from throwing up.

Ye Yao was not surprised, but simply felt that this was the case.

It's about time, too, to start alienating Lu Xun.